Imran Khan appeared in court through a video link for an appeal against declaring the NAB amendments null and void.
The Supreme Court has commenced hearings on the government’s appeals against the annulment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared in court via video link.
A five-member larger bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is hearing the case, with Justices Aminuddin, Jamal Mandokhail, Athar Minallah, and Hasan Azhar Rizvi as part of the bench.
During the May 30 hearing on petitions against the NAB amendments, former Prime Minister Imran Khan mentioned being in solitary confinement. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked that if ordinances are to be issued, then the parliament should be closed.
At the outset of the NAB amendment case hearing in the Supreme Court, former Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared via video link, wearing a blue shirt and participating in the two-and-a-half-hour session. On May 14, the Supreme Court allowed him to appear via video link during hearings on the annulment of NAB amendments.
On September 15 last year, the Supreme Court delivered a reserved judgment on Imran Khan’s petition against the NAB amendments, declaring several clauses null and void, reinstating corruption cases against public officeholders, and allowing NAB to investigate cases involving amounts less than 500 million rupees.
The decision reinstated dismissed corruption cases and ordered their re-filing within a week, stating NAB should proceed under the original law and that amendments regarding assets beyond means would remain applicable to government officials. Amendments related to plea bargaining were nullified.
The federal government challenged the Supreme Court’s September 15 decision on October 17, which had declared the NAB amendments illegal.